Mine-laying submarine



SPt- 16, 1930. H. E; GRIESHABER 1,775,855

MINE LAYING SUBMARINE Filed June 3, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l Sept- 16, 1930. H. E. GRlEsHABER 1,775,855

INE LAYING SUBMARINE Filed June 5. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 16, 1930 UNETE'D STATES PATENT OFFICE HUGO GRIESHABER, OF NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO ELECTRIC BOAT COMPANY, Ol'l GROTON, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY MINE-LAYING SUBMAB-IN E Application filed June 3,

This invention relates to mine laying submarine boats, and more particularly to a submarine boat ior laying mines by what is known as the dry system.

One of the main objects of my invention to provide a submarine boat having mine stowage tubes so disposed as not to occupy valuable space in the pressure hull, these tubes having associated therewith means for transferring the mines from the tubes andior discharging them exteriorlyrof the hull. Another object is to so dispose the mine stowage tubes in relation to the hull structure as to obviate any increase in the dimensions thereof, thus preventing interference with the speed or radius of action of the boat. A further object is to provide a boat in which the stowage tubes and associated parts are so disposed as to provide an extremely simple compensating system while also preventing any material change in trim of the boat during discharge of the mines.

Still another obj ect is to so dispose the mine stowage tubes as to enhance the stability of the boat and reduce likelihood of the mines in the tubes being struck in the event of collision when the boat is running afloat. It is also an object of my invention to provide simple and highly efficient means for laying or discharging the mines while permitting the same to be examined immediately before discharge to determine the condition of the gear thereof. Further objects and advantages ot' my invention will appear from the detailed description. V

ln the drawings:

Figure l is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view talreu through the mid-ship portion et submarine boat vconstructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View through the mid-ship portion of the boat;

Figure 3 is a section taken substantially on line of Figure 2;

Figure i is a section taken substantially on Eine 4 4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a section taken substantially on line 5 5 et Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a section taken substantially on line 6-6 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is a detail. on an enlarged scale, of the means for operating the spoon.

The boat is, in general, of known construction and comprises an inner pressure hull l and an outer hull 2, the space between these two hulls constituting ballast, fuel and compensating tanks in a known manner. l provide two mine stowage tubes 3 at the bottom ot the boat. These tubes extend fore and aft of the hulls and are disposed at opposite sides of and equi-distant from the keel line. The tubes 3 are water-tight and are adapted to withstand full submergence pressure. The forward ends of the tubes are closed at 4. At their rearward ends the tubes open into spaces 5 which constitute downward eXtensions of a mine room 6 within hull l at the mid-ship portion thereof. Mine racks 7 are mounted in spaces 5 and, when the mines have been loaded into the tubes and upon these racks, removable stanchions 8 are secured at the top of the spaces 5 as in F igure 5.

The stowage tubes 3 open aft, that is, toward the stern of the boat. A mine transfer tube 9 is provided in alignment with each of the tubes 3 and adjacent racks 7, this transfer tube being disposed between the hulls. The transfer tube 9 is provided, at each end, with a gate valve l0. These valves operate in casings ll which extend through the pressure hull l and into the mine room 6. Valves l0 may be operated manually from within the mine room 6, though I prefer to provide suitable mechanism for assuring quick operation of the valves, this mechanism comprising cylinders l2 to which compressed air may be supplied in a known manner, and mechanism operating in the cylinders and having operating connections with the valves.

Any other suitable or preferred means may he employed for operating the .gate valves. The tube 9 and the associated valves constitute a lock for transferring a mine from the rack to the exterior of hull l.

The aft end of tube 9 opens into a space 13 in which is mounted a cylindrical mine receiving and discharge spoon 14 which is open at both ends. 1.This spoon is pivotally mounted at the lower port-ion of its forward end, at 15, and, when in its normal raisedV position is disposed adjacent' and in alignment withl the' transfer tube or lock 9.

Any suitable ,or preferredmeans may be provided ,for operating spoon- 14e/1I have "illustrated operating means comprisinga,

cylinder lGin which` operates a piston'to which is secured a piston rodl to the outery end of which ispivoted af yoke'l'S. The arms of this yoke extend forwardly along spoon 14, when the spoon is raised, andare pivotally secured at their forward'ends at v19, to

Y the upper ends of a pair of arms 2O which are piston-for operating thespoon.

"Preferably, though not necessarily, pro- Vide la contact member y adjacentthe aft Y endof 'the spoon and' disposed forengagement by the end .of'a mine which has 'been moved into full positionY in the spoon. rlhis Contact. member' has associatedtherewith suitable means, either electrical or mechanical, for opening a valveand admitting liquid` under pressure Vinto the cylinder 16 at the 'innerf si-de of the piston, wheny the mine isV f-ullyspositioned upon the spoon. This results I in .outward movement of the piston rod l? thus swinging the spoon downwardly about axis 15 `into the dottedline position of Figure 2 so as to discharge the mine therefrom sternward andbelow the hull, asindicated. After the mine has thus been discharged, liquid under pressure is admitted to the cylinder at the outer side YofV the piston ythus retracting the piston rod 1'Z`andreturning the'spoon 14: toits inner normaler mine receiving position shown full 'lines in Figure 2;.

v yEach of the tubes 3 and the racks and locks 9 :associatedtherewith, yas :well as the spoonlg is provided with suitable conveying mec-hanism for moving the -mines through the tubesy in either direction and forv transferring the mines'from: thek racks to. tube 9 'of the lock. This conveymgmechanism also serves to .move the minesoutwardly of the lock into. properposition in the spoon lll to be discharged thereby. Conveying mechanism of ythischaracter is known in Vthey art and need not bel illustrated ',norvdescribed in detail.

I .havey indicated such vmechanism diagrammat-ically in VF igure 2 by pinions 26 disposed in the upperportion .of tube 3, lock 9 and spoon 14, and above racks 7.

'These-pinions are driven in a known manner byfan :electric motor 27 disposed in; the' Suitable mine room 6. Operation Aof'tliis motor'and of any selected setof the pinions 26 is controlledina manner wellknown in they art. The conveyor mechanism provides means whereby the mines` can be loaded into the stowage tubes and can be transferred therefrom tothe,V mine receiving ,and "discharge spoon with facility.

Y When itis desired to iay'or discharge the mines, vthe valve at thev forward' end ofthe tube'or loclr39 isfopened, the other Vvalve rethe rack into lock 9V anc the valve at'theforward end of this `lock is then closed. The

water is then admitted toflock V9, in a known manner, from'a compensating tank 28 ure-4) disposed between the two locks and in alignment therewith'transversely kof the hull structure. rThis compensating tank may be otherwise disposed, but is conveniently disposed las illustrated. .The valve at the aftl end of lockV 9 is then opened and .the mine; is moved kaft into thel spoonli'and, when vinY full positionvupon the spoon, contacts member.25 causingthe spoon to` be swung downwardly about its p ivotl Yi nto the dotted line position of Figure 2 so aste ,discharge'the mine therefrom. To permitfof thisfoperation ofthe spoon'and discharge of the mine, outer hull V 2jsis, provided with a., suitable opening through the bottom thereofand, whenthe spoon is in raised position, this opening is covered by aplate 29 securedto the lower pors tion of the spoom this plate conforming'in curvature -to the outer hull and the hull being faired to theplate. n Y This is advantageous tions or openings in the outer'hull such as would interfere with. ready passage of they,boat throughthe water and consequently reduce the speed or radius of action thereof.

`Water is transferred from supplemental compensating. tank 28 to a main compensating tank 30` disposed immediately aft of spoon 14,'this transfer of water from tank 28 to Vtank 3() being effected lin a known manner.l 1 'Dur` ing the movement vo ,fthemine from lock 9 into Vthe spoonolet, water is ycaused to flow: from' compensating tank 30 forwardly. to a second main compensating tank *3K1 disposed` immediately Vforward of the forward end of tube t, in `a known manner. rlhisv forward movement of the wateroffs'ets the moment due to the rearward ory sternward movement of the mine.' p Y f c I preferablyprovide a quick iio'oding compensating tank 32 disposed in alignment with "spoon 14 transversely of the hull structure;

This tank 32, like tank 28,-may conveniently be disposed mid-way between the spoons, that is, invertical alignment With-thekeel 33 and' between theA inner and outer'hulls, asV illustrated in Figure 3. VThe tank 32'has a capacity suchv that .the weight of the sea water taken into this tank equals the negative buoyancy of as avoiding' projecvmaining closed. A mineis then movedyfrom f a mine discharged from spoon 14. This tank is quickly flooded by means of a sea valve, during discharge of the mine from the spoon, and the sea valve is then immediately closed and the water is transferred to the main compensating tank in a known manner thus leaving the tank 32 available for use when a second mine is discharged.

This tank 32 is of value in maintaining the trim of the boat and the tanks 32 and 28 are so disposed relative to the main compensating tanks 30 and 3l as to provide an extremely simple and highly efficient compensating system whereby the trim and stability of the boat is readily maintained during laying of the mines.

VAs soon as a mine has been moved out of transfer' tube or lock 9 into spoon'M, the valve at the aft end of the lock is closed and the water in the lock is blown into the compensating tank 28 fromwhich it is transferred to main compensating tank 30 as above set forth. The lock 9 is then in condition to receive a second mine which is transferred therethrough to spoon 14 and discharged in the manner described, this operation being repeated until all, or as many as desired, of the mines have been discharged. In practice, the mines are discharged from the tubes alternately so as to maintain the proper trim and stability of the boat. Admission of water from the supplemental compensating tank 28 to locks 9 may be controlled by a suitable valve 3d disposed in a pipe 35 establishing communica- 'tion between the locks and the tank. After all of the mines have been discharged, the compensating tanks 8O and 3l are preferably full of water, these tanks being of proper capacity to compensate for the mines. It is to be particularly noted that the tubes, as well as the compensating tanks and associated parts, are disposed at the mid-ship portion of the boat.

' This greatly facilitates compensation and enhances the trim and stabilityof the boat. In this connect-ion, it is to be noted that the stowage tubes 8 are disposed at the bottom of the boat. This has the advantage of increas ing the stability of the'boat'. Vvhile I have shown two tubes disposed at opposite sides of and ,equi-distant from the keel line of the boat, I do not intend to in any way limit my invention to this number of tubes since the number of tubes used will depend largely upon requirements and may be increased or diminished as required to meet given conditions. A further advantage of having the tubes at the lower portion of the hull structure is that, in the event of collision when the boat is running afloat, danger of the mines in the tubes being struck, with possible disastrous results, is largely eliminated.

Referring more particularly to Figure 2, it will benoted that the mine is discharged downwardly through the bottom of the hull and sternward so as to eliminate possibilityY of the mine fouling the hull. This discharge of the mine is facilitated by the forward travel of the boat and the mine sinks quickly' to the bottom so as to clear the propeller-s in the continued forward travel of the boat, the mine rising after a predetermined interval of time, amnly sufficient for the boat to pass well beyond the mine, and being thereafter maintained at a predetermined depth in the water this being effected by known control mechanism associated with the mine.

lVhile I prefer to dispose the mine stowage tubes at the bottom of the hull, or closely adjacent thereto, I do not limit myself to this arrangement under all conditions since the meansfor discharging the mines downward ly through the hull can be employed to advantage with stowage tubes disposed above the bottom of the boat. Under ordinary conditions, however, I prefer to dispose the stowage tubes and the discharge means in the manner illustrated.

A hatch provided with a suitable hatch cover or door 35, admits of the mines being lowered into the mine room 6 as indicated in Fifrure 2. After the mines have been lowered into the mine room, the stanchions 8 being removed, they are transported by a suitable trolley, which travels on rails 36 extending transversely of the mine room and at opposite sides of hatch 8d, to the racks 7. The mines are then loaded onto the racks and, by proper operation of the conveying mechanism. are moved forwardly into the tubes 3. After the tubes have been loaded one mine is placed upon each of the racks. In this manner the tubes and the racks can be loaded with facility.

Each of the tubes 3 is capable of containing nine mines which, with the one mine supported upon the racks in alignment with the tube, makes a total of twenty mines which can be carried by the boat. The length of the tubes can be varied within limits, however, and I do not, tl erefore, limit myself to the particular .number of mines which the tube carries.

By disposing the tubes between the hulls, valuable space within the pressure hull is not taken up and the necessity of increasing the dimensions of the boat to accommodate the mine stowage tubes is eliminated. It is also to be noted that, by employing a small number of mine stowage tubes, the mines can readily be laid or discharged therefrom by comparatively simple mechanism and all necessity of employing a large number of discharging mechanisms for this purpose is avoided.

A further advantage is that all of the mechanisms for tra^ sferring the mines from the tubes and for discharging them, are controlled from the mine room G. The advantage of having the tubes 3 open into the spaces or extensions'of the mine room is that the mines canbe inspected yimmediately before dischargethereof to determine the condition of theminef gear and, ifnecessary, proper alterations or repairs therein ycan be made.

WhatI claimde: .y y l. ,In a mine laying submarine boat, a mine stowage=tube at' the `bottom of the hull, a

` Vmine receiving and; discharge spoon operatv and `disposed ing through the hull bottom, means for transferringminesfrom the tube to the spoon,'and means for operating said spoon.

2.'In a mine laying submarine boat comprising an inner hull and an outer hull, a mine stowage and discharge spoon disposed between the hulls and operating through the bottoni ofy the tubethrough the bottom of the outer hull.

In a mine laying submarine boat comprising an inner hull and an outer hull, two

mine stowage tubes at the bottom'of the boatl and at opposite sides of and equidistant from the keel line, said tubes being disposed fore and aft and'between the hulls, and means for discharging mines from the tubes through the bottom of the outer hull. I

v 5. ln amine laying submarine boat comprising an inner hull and an outer hull, a

mine stowage tube disposed fore and aft-'and between the hulls, a mine receiving and Y-discharge spoon disposed between the hulls and aft. of and `in, alignment with the tube, means fortransferring mines from ythe tube to the spoon, said spoon operating through the bottom of the outer hul-hand means for oper- ,atingwsaid spoon. p 6. in a mine laying submarine boat comprising an innerhull and an outerhulha mine ystowage tubedisposed fore and aft and between the hulls, a mine receiving and discharge spoon aft of thetube and pivotedat its forward end for movement into mine receiving andfmine discharging positions, the outer hullhavingl an opening disposed to accommodate discharge of mines from the spoon, means for transferring mines from the tube'to the spoon, and means 'for operating said spoon.V e 7. In a mine laying submarine boat comprising 1an inner hull and.' an outer hull, a mine stowage tubeL disposed fore and aft and "between .the hulls at the bottom thereof, a lmine receiving,andfdischarge spoon aft of the tube and pivoted at its forward end for swinging movement upwardly anddown- Y v wardly into mine receiving and mine disfor transferring Imines tube disposed at the bottom of the boat between the hulls, a minereceiving plemental compensating tank,

charging'positions, the outerhull having an opening accommodating fmovement'pof the spoon and means for, Voperating said lSpooI'n-and means spoon. A -Y from the tubetoithe discharge of mines therefrom,

8., In a mine laying submarine boatvcoin# p'rising an inner hull and Y.anouter hull, a

- mine st'owageV tubedisposed fore andraft 'and between thehulls at the rbottom thereof, av ymine `receiving and discharge 'spoon aftof the tube and fpivoted at its forward end for swinging movement upwardly and down-v wardly into mine receiving and kmine dis'- charging positions,fthe outer huh having an opening accommodating movement ofthe spoon anidaV discharge ofy Vmines means foioperating saidspoon, .and means forrtransferring mines from thetube to the spoon, saidoperating means being controlled by positioning of aminefon thespoon.

therefrom,

'9. In ya mine laying'fsubmarinebo'atvcoinff prising an inner hull' andy an outer hull, `a

minest-ow-age tube disposed fore and aft' and Ibetween, the hulls at the bottom -thereof,a`

mine receiving and `discharge spoon Vaft of the tube vand pivoted .at its forward end for swinging movement upwardly anddown.-Y

wardly `into mine receiving and mine discharging positions, saidspoon being aligned with'. the tube, means for `transferringmines endwise from thetube to `the spoon, the outer hull having an opening accommodating movement of the spoon and discharge of the l V'mines from `the spoon', and means ,for operatv ing said spoon@ y Y v 10." In a mine laying submarine boat, a mine stowage tube disposed'fore and aft yof the hulhand' at themidship portion thereof, .t

mine receiving and discharge means, means for transferring mines from the tubeto the receiving and dischar'ge'means,.main compensating tanks forward of the tube and aft of the receivingand discharge means, a supand a quick flooding supplemental tankv Iadjacent, g the loo ilo

mine receiving'and dischargeineans and hav-V to the negative buoyancy ofa mine.

ing aseawatercapacityapproximately equal the aftend ofthe tube, rmeans for transferring mines from the tube to said receiving and Vdischarge means, and a quick flooding Y compensating tank disposed in substantial alignment transversely of the hull with the receiving and discharge, means, said tank having a seawater capacity approximately. equal. to the negative biioyancyv ofa mine.

In kwitness whereof, l hereuntosubscribe my namethis 28 day offMay,1929.`

f HUGQEGRIESHABER; 

